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Wednesday 19 March 2008

RAPID ROUNDUP: OECD Review of Australia’s Environment  - experts react

The  Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released a report card on Australia’s environmental policies. This report examines Australia’s progress since the previous OECD Environmental Performance Review in 1998 and the extent to which the country is meeting its domestic objectives and international commitments regarding the environment and sustainable development.

According to the OECD website, the OECD recommends “Australia should better manage the environment by protecting its natural resources, improving energy efficiency and using more environmentally friendly taxes and prices.  While OECD welcomes Australia’s progress in tackling environmental issues over the past decade, it notes that Australia must take further steps to ‘green’ its economy and to face climate change and water challenges.” Australian experts comment on the findings of this report.

Feel free to use these comments in your stories. If you would like to speak to one of these or other experts, please don’t hesitate to contact us on (08) 8207 7415 or by email.

David Pearce is Director & Principal Policy Analyst at the Centre for International Economics, Canberra

"The OECD appears to have produced a balanced and accurate report on the state of Australia’s environmental policies. It shows, of course, that there is still a long way to go in a number of areas including climate change and water. Climate change policies are under intense development at the moment. The details of the emissions trading scheme to be released soon by Minister Wong will be particularly important, as these details will really determine the cost and benefits of the scheme. On water, Australia has only come part of the way to addressing issues in major rural river systems. In addition, there is considerable scope to improve policies and regulations related to urban water provision, particularly when it comes to sending clear market signals to consumers in times of urban water shortages. With the expectation of long term issues, the short term band-aid measure involving complicated systems of water restrictions may no longer be appropriate or effective."

Mr Barney Foran is visiting fellow at the centre for Resource and Environmental Studies at the Australian National University. He led the Resource Futures Programme at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and has a background in agriculture, ecology and physical economics.

"The OECD Environmental Performance Review gives austere reading for Australians already beset by the parlous state of environment indicators. Even blame shifting by a new government cannot moderate the challenging news. But there are some bright spots for air quality, biodiversity protection, catchment management authorities, new reform agenda, and finally 'whole of government approaches' to national issues. The good news on GDP (30% increase since 1998) must be viewed along side 'emissions intensities of SOX, NOX and CO2 are the highest, or amongst the highest, in the OECD'. The OECD fails to muse whether the two might be linked.

"In the absence of aggressive improvements in management and technology, economic growth and population growth are the primary drivers of environmental decline. However by definition, the OECD cannot admit to this. If proper accounting protocols were applied, the much congratulated 'improvements in the energy and greenhouse intensity of economic growth' would be seen to be a furphy, the result of savings gleaned by rising imports from China and other low wage manufacturers. Thus China's emissions problem is Australia's accounting gain.

"A key reporting protocol central to environmental improvement is not  foreshadowed viz. That Federal Treasury should report on the integrated effect that its yearly budget has on national measures of greenhouse, water and the ecological footprint. Then, citizens could  assess whether Ministers Wong and Garrett are marginal or central, to the business of national government."

Professor John Quiggin is an Australian Research Council Federation Fellow in the School of economics at the University of Queensland.

“While noting progress in some areas, the OECD report confirms the judgement of the Australian electorate that the Howard government had failed to address the big problems of climate change and sustainable development.  In particular, the imposition of a price on carbon emissions, though obviously necessary, was resisted for years, then delayed, leaving the incoming government the task of developing and implementing a scheme in a very short period.”

Professor Barry Brook is Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change and Director of the Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability at Adelaide University.

"Environmental damage caused by human actions is worsening at a rapid rate and on a global scale. We in Australia and other developed nations like to tell the developing world that they must put a stop to the severe impacts caused by their population and economic growth, driven by exploitation of natural resources. One reason is that most developing nations retain large tracts of intact forest, wetlands, grasslands and incredible levels of biodiversity. It shocks us to contemplate that this natural wealth could all be lost within a few centuries because of rampant development that follows the standard industrialized pathway.

“But what the OECD report on Australia's state of the environment underscores is that we are hardly in a position to preach. Not only have human impacts on Australia's environment been savage over the last 200 years, including the extinction of more than 20 mammal species (a global record we are not proud of) and the clearance of most of our original Eucalypt and rain forests, but things are not really improving. At least not at a rate that is meaningful such that environmental recovery is on an overall upwards swing, which is what is needed if we are to realise some semblance of recovery to former levels of ecological health. We continue to incrementally erode our natural capital as we live beyond our means - the antithesis of what is meant by long-term sustainability. If we can't reverse these problems of environmental degradation at local and national scales, what hope have we got of looking credible in working towards a global solution to climate change mitigation?"

Professor John Cary is a Professorial Research Fellow at the  Institute for Sustainability and Innovation at Victoria University

“The Federal Government’s response to the OECD’s Environmental Performance Review of Australia suggests that it has anticipated many of the concerns raised by the OECD.  However, there is much in the OECD’s wide-ranging review that still requires hard, long-term decisions to be taken and followed through. The experience of the previous Federal Government indicates, in many areas, large budget commitments for improving water and land management may be necessary but are usually not sufficient to bring about observable environmental improvement.

“The OECD Review has observed, in spite of past efforts, the capacity of environmental agencies is not adequate to address all of their responsibilities. Importantly, The OECD points out that important river systems and groundwater aquifers remain over-allocated. The review recommends the expansion of the use of market-based instruments to advance ecologically sustainable development, with particular attention to end-user energy prices to promote conservation. It also suggests the strengthening of enforcement regimes to discourage anti-environmental behaviours such as pollution. It will be important to improve the mix of ‘sticks’ and ‘carrots’ which are efficient and appropriate for different situations. “